The Dragons Price (Transference #1) ~ By Bethany Wiggins – 2.5 Stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Books for Young Readers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 21st, 2017

304 Pages

Synopsis: When two warring kingdoms unified against a deadly menace laying waste to both their lands, they had to make a choice: vow to marry their heirs to one another, or forfeit their lives to the dragon.

Centuries later, everyone expects the sheltered princess Sorrowlynn to choose the barbarian prince over the fire-breathing beast–everyone, that is, except for Sorrow, who is determined to control her own destiny or die trying.

As she is lowered into the dragon’s chamber, she assumes her life is over until Golmarr, the young prince she just spurned, follows her with the hopes of being a hero and slaying the dragon. But the dragon has a different plan…

If the dragon wins, it will be freed from the spell that has bound it to the cave for centuries. If Sorrow or Golmarr vanquish the dragon, the victor will gain its treasure and escape the cave beneath the mountain. But what exactly is the dragon hiding?

There are no safe havens for Sorrow or Golmarr–not even with each other–and the stakes couldn’t be higher as they risk everything to protect their kingdom.

I have to admit The Dragons Price was an impulse request not because of the cover (which I thought was a bit tacky), but because of the dragon. Yes. I have a fondness for dragons! Unfortunately although the story’s quick pace had me finishing this in one sitting, there were a few flaws that prevented this from being a perfect read for me. I like both Sorrow and Golmarr, but the insta-love between them annoyed me and I thought their characters needed a little more development. On the surface, Sorrow is the kind of heroine I usually love. Intelligent, independent, courageous and a bit impulsive. While she’s a princess, her life has definitely been no fairytale, hence her willingness to sacrifice herself to a dragon, rather than marry an unknown prince. Plus she has a prophecy hanging over her. Golmarr is also likable. He may be a barbarian prince, but he’s a complete gentleman who’s also brave and filled with compassion. The problem was that maybe because their relationship happened so instantaneously, there just seemed to be something missing and they came across as one-dimensional. I also thought some of the dialogue was a bit stilted which didn’t help matters any. The actual storyline was fun, but overall, I found it a tad predictable. In the end I have to admit this was a disappointment for me. Because of the author’s writing style, the characters read more for middle-school children, while the situations are more for YA readers, which makes me unsure as to what age group I’d recommend this to. The Dragons Price is the first book in a planned trilogy and there were some parts of it that I enjoyed. While I wouldn’t buy the second book, I will perhaps borrow it from my library. There are plenty of plenty of positive reviews though on Goodreads, so as always don’t rely strictly on my opinion.

Awh, I just got approved for this on Netgalley. I’m sad there was some major instalove, but I’m super glad about the fast pacing. Your review definitely has me knowing what to look out for. Great post! 🙂

If you’re a fan of dragons I highly, highly recommend Chasing Embers by James Bennett. It scored a 5 star review with me! I also love The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. Mysterious libraries, kick-ass librarians, and dragons…What more could you ask for?😊

Fabulous review, Kim! Have you tried Julie Kagawa’s series about dragons yet? Her books are crazy addicting and some of the best peril out there. It’s a 5 book series, I have the first few books but she’s one of the few authors I love to binge reading because of the peril aspect and her endings lol. 🙂

Got to admit that the mention of dragons is almost always an insta-buy. Although.. I find them rare in the books I’ve read for the past years. I think I need to fix that! Sucks that that the book feel short on multiple levels. Especially when things feel like it was more suitable for middle-grade kids. 😦

I started a book called Slumber that I requested bc it was a retelling and it had a gorgeous cover. I couldn’t even get past 11%. It has a ton of 5 star reviews but there were so many errors and the love was so instant that it was ridiculous, and I just couldn’t continue.
So I know what you mean.
I think I’ll steer clear of this one, thanks!! 😊

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